Build The Relationship You WANT

I was working with a couple recently who are in the midst of dissolving a long-term relationship. At one point in the conversation, one of them said, “I’m so sad and angry that, with all these years we had together, we just couldn’t get it together…work our stuff out.” There’s many reasons why that often is the case for couples, but I’ve come to see that if you find yourself in that boat, on any level, it’s probably because you’ve been waiting for something.

This handsome Dude you see on the left recently gave me a HUGE reminder of another cost of waiting…for love, for the “right time,” for when you feel “safe” enough, etc. Let me introduce you to Michael Anthony Childress.

Mike has been a friend, a member of one of the Men’s Groups I lead, an extremely accomplished ICU/Critical Care Nurse for over 15 years, an ex-husband, a former football player, a lover of fast cars, an irreverent smart-ass, and an extremely loving Soul who constantly was trying to figure out what this Love thing was all about…’cos it seemed to him that he just couldn’t “figure that s**t out” (to quote Mike directly).

Last Monday, on the 18th, after wondering why Mike hadn’t shown up to our men’s meeting on the 14th, and after having left him several messages, I found out that Mike had died of a sudden massive heart attack 2 days previous to our meeting, at the age of 45. This wonderfully loving man had been laying on his living room floor for several days before being found. I am quite sure it wasn’t in Mike’s plans that day – especially given how hard he worked out every day for years to create a body that was in incredible shape – to be getting ready to go to the gym, and literally drop dead.

In fact, what I imagine was more on Mike’s mind was what he’d do after the workout, what he’d be doing next to find a new nursing job, how he was going to make it back from one of the hardest years of his life. Mike was like a lot of us…in the face of things going badly where they were, his first tendency was to try to out-think the circumstances…to come up with better strategies…to try/work harder at making things work out.

Yet, after the last year of hell he’d been through, he’d had a revelation that I trust and hope allowed him to leave this life happier…he learned that trying to control his life and ignore what his heart was telling him and needing was a s**tty strategy. He learned that the one thing that had been so hard for him – letting people support him and love on him – was what made the biggest difference in turning his life back in the direction of high self-love and a comeback-in-the-making that inspired me and all of us who knew him. This made it all the harder to make sense of him suddenly dying when it all was finally starting to go in the direction he longed for.

So, why am Itaking up your precious time having you read about a guy that mattered to me, but you didn’t know from Adam? Because the best way I know to honor my friend is to have his seemingly meaningless death, at such a young age, have meaning beyond what he could’ve imagined. Here’s what I suggest that meaning and value can be for you, as it surely is for me.

You often hear platitudes about making the most of each day, because you never know when it’s going to be your last. You know it’s good advice, but the mind kicks in with its arrogant belief that you’ll be the one to cheat it somehow…or, at least, that you’ll live for decades more. You may be lamenting why you can’t get a relationship to work out…or, how come you can’t seem to feel too excited or inspired with the one you have…with you, your partner, your life.

You might be trying to figure that out…andodds are, you’rewaiting for something….for the perfect partner to show up that meets every single thing on your wish list for a lover. Maybe you’re waiting until you get that next promotion, that next pay jump that will give you the extra money you need to be able to finally start creating “The Dream.” Maybe you’re waiting until you get through the next deadline to take your partner and/or your kids on that road trip where you’ll just be able to have fun and connect. Maybe, you’re waiting until your ego-mind assures you you’re absolutly guaranteed enough of being safe that you’ll finally start letting people see – and love – who you REALLY are.

I’m not saying all this to discount the importance and value of getting things done, being in action to create the life you want, etc. What I AM saying this for is to encourage you to re-look at what it’s all for…is what you’re trying to create in your life being driven by the highest priority being survival or to serve love in myriad ways? I just read a survey that says a LOT of people expect to maybe enjoy 10% of their life, and are just passing time until the end, hoping it won’t suck as bad as they fear it could. I don’t know how real that number really is, but what I know from working with so many people over the last 17 years is that it may not be THAT far off….and that breaks my heart and, hopefully, would break yours.

In my opinion, the way to avoid becoming a part of that statistic is to make love your top priority…don’t wait for love to suddenly arrive or for the “perfect” or convenient time to give love to yourself and others…hell, what would your life be like if you found a way, by hook or by crook, to love on someone even when you feel like crap? We KNOW it makes you feel better! Don’t wait until you have time, or convenience, to call the person you just thought of that you haven’t talked with in a long time…if you thought of them out of the blue, it’s because your Spirit knows you need to connect with that person for reasons you don’t know…or, even need to know.

Stop waiting for love and make it…have sex with your partner to heal separation, instead of waiting to not feel separate to get in the mood. Call people. Write someone you love a quick note telling them three things you love about them (or better yet, call them and tell them). Stop what you’re doing and just tell your kids you love them and why. Do the same for yourself.

Don’t be a statistic…be the love that you were born to be and don’t wait. Mike reminded me of that, and I’m joining you in making that the top priority that can guide me – and must – in all that I create and open to.

Once upon a time, Buddha was quoted (or paraphrased) as saying, “Life is suffering.”

In contrast, many years ago, someone taught me that “Suffering is optional.” Somewhere in between that observation and what we long for as possibilities in our lives is a middle ground that beautifully holds the tension and exhilaration of how to reconnect with, and respond to, our innate desire to live Heaven on Earth, both externally and internally.

How is that possible? By each of us living as our highest and finest expression of who we truly, authentically are…unapologetically, yet grounded in the innate guidance that our individual Spirit offers us in every moment, if we’ll but listen.

One of the catches to this, though…living such a life of alignment with one’s Spirit has to be done no matter what our circumstances may be and (here’s the real clincher for a lot of folks) no matter what others may think or like.

We all know well the voices of the “Monkey Mind,” or ego, that tell us we can’t be this way, shouldn’t do that, don’t dare say “xyz” to someone, for fear of reaction and rejection.

We tend to forget that we’re born with a freedom and sense of unlimited possibility…no limitations residing within us. Yet, within our families and within our school experiences, that sense of “no limitations” gets squashed, distorted, adapted, and compromised to the point that we often lose track of where the “real” us – our essence – begins and the “socially acceptable” us ends. In maintaining the latter, we get tired, confused, frustrated, self-doubting, self-judgmental, short-tempered, shut down, and disconnected.

This effort ultimately wears us out, and the negative energies that can get so rampant leak out on our children (if we have any), on our colleagues, our spouses/partners, and back onto ourselves. This cycle is one I’ve seen with so many people. It’s a cycle I’ve lived and still live if I’m not paying attention, staying connected to my highest self and truth….and, if I’m not living and practicing love as much as humanly possible.

It may be considered a cliche (though I believe cliches become cliches because there’s a lot of proven truth to them) that – as the Beatles said – “Love is all you need.” My contention is that Heaven on Earth is achievable at ANY moment, simply by returning to our connection to love…not just self-love (as critical as that is), but love, period.

Not loving yourself and feeling lower than in the dumps? Love someone or something else. In that moment, perhaps you’ll notice you’re living Heaven on Earth.

I invite you to try that practice today, and then email me (at the email address above) to share your experience when you do that one simple thing. Or, if you believe it just couldn’t be that simple…let me know that, too.

One of the most common complaints or issues that people share with me that they are struggling with is along the lines of “I don’t know what I want to do with my life,” followed closely by “I have no idea what my purpose is, and I feel like I’m just drifting through my life.” The economic times seem to be adding to the distress of that kind of question. People who are getting clear that they are not living a life that is congruent with who they really are often describe feeling trapped, particularly in their careers (and often in unhappy relationships where financial stability is seemingly at stake).

This gets so tricky, because we believe what our minds tell us. For generations, men have been conditioned to believe that the sure-fire way to “success” is to strategize, plan, and think their way into their destiny. It’s become clear that more and more women are trying to adapt to this same fashion of self-actualization. To me, it’s a human condition or dilemma that causes so much suffering, confusion, and inertia…particularly to the degree we’re fanatical about preserving our control of how our lives are going.

I recently heard someone share how they’ve been feeling more and more (though they’ve actually been thinking, and confusing it with feeling) like their life may be over, because they’ve had such a hard time finding a job in the field that they’ve worked in for many years. In listening to this person, it was clear that they’ve actually considered that this could be a reality. I’ve even been there myself in my past.

When faced with so much seeming instability, uncertainty, or even “real” circumstances like unemployment, the knee-jerk reaction for so many is to go to into raw, primal survival, followed by intense thinking and mental strategizing for solutions, followed by much more disappointment, dejection, and internal terror. When this is going on, one of the key doorways to finding an opening, some relief, or openings to possibilities and transformation is to start with doing whatever it takes to remember who you really are. (By the way, it also helps to be sure you’re checking in with what’s really real and what’s a fear-based projection of what you think is going to happen).

More and more people have forgotten something so basic, the forgetting of which creates so much needless suffering and blocked creativity and generatively: we are not what we do or how much money we have in the bank. Those things are only outward expressions of who we are. They’re important, to be sure…we do need money to eat and have shelter. Yet, who we are is what sources the clarity and direction we are starving for when we, ironically, get disconnected from who we really are at times like losing a job. Who you are is not your circumstances, be they terrific or seemingly in the toilet. Who you are is your Spirit, your soul that gets the opportunity to grow and expand its depth and wisdom through having human experiences.

Our connection to our Spirit-self, if you will, is only (at least in my experience, thus far) able to be experienced in our hearts…which requires being connected to our bodies. When you’re lost in the hall of mirrors between your ears, trying to figure your way out of your survival panics, you’re not likely connected to your body…at least not below the neck. So, much of what you’re “figuring out” is likely to be your mind turning in on itself, relying on decades of conditioning to come up with an answer. Yet, without connection to who you really are, any solutions have a real chance of being the equivalent of a house of cards.

So, what do you do when you’ve forgotten yourself, find yourself losing sleep, overeating, feeling like three rungs below plankton on the self-worthiness scale, and isolating in your man- or woman-cave staring at the boob tube for your main source of connection, inspiration, and human contact? Here are a few suggestions to start with, all of which will take high intention on your part, most likely…so be forewarned:

Call 3 of your best friends – you know, the ones that will tell you the unvarnished truth, with love, whether you’re going to like it or not – and ask them to tell you 3 things that they admire and love about you. One critical thing, though – ask them to give you three examples of you being what they admire and love from actual experiences you’ve had together. That way, your mind won’t tell you they’re just being nice. Do your best to let it in.

Take 15 minutes, right now, to make a list of the things that – had you all the money you could possibly ever need or want – you’d want to be able leave behind as a legacy you’d feel proud of on your deathbed, focusing especially on those things that have nothing to do with Do-ing and everything to do with Be-ing. Keep that where you can see it each day, and when chips get down, read it religiously every day to remind yourself of how your Spirit longs to express itself.

When you’re struggling – particularly with money issues, employment, or feeling good enough for your partner and yourself – rally your community around you…friends, former co-workers you’ve stayed friends with, your Spiritual community, your partner, your men’s or woman’s group…and ask for their support. Your ego is going to SCREAM at you not to do any such thing. But, believe me, failing to do this is one of the more sure-fire ways to ensure you’re going to just stay miserable, start believing your Ego’s own PR, and delay your growth and joy beyond reasonable limits. We cannot do this life alone, and all that American ethic of self-determination failed to take into account it’s just plain easier to allow yourself to be raised and lifted by that there village…no matter how old you are.

Lastly, when you find yourself sitting there thinking your life is over because your old picture of reality and who you are (from the ego’s position, anyway) seem to be shattered, see what happens to how you feel when you begin to exercise your right to choose how you relate to anything, and start relating to your seemingly s**tty circumstances as the opportunity your Spirit’s been waiting for to come back to itself and help you hear that out-of-the-box idea that will create a life beyond what you’ve yet experienced. I promise it’s possible…I did it when it became clear that my corporate career was going to kill me if I didn’t get out, and this E-zine – and the lives I’ve been privileged to contribute to expanding for the last 15 years – is testimony to what happens when you listen to your heart, and allow your head to follow.

It is obvious that human beings suffer. Buddha was quoted as saying “Life is suffering.”

In contrast, many years ago, someone taught me that “Suffering is optional.” Somewhere in between that observation and what we long for as possibilities in our lives is a middle ground that beautifully holds the tension and exhilaration of how to reconnect with, and respond to, our innate desire to live Heaven on Earth, both externally and internally.

My work, my heart, and my life is dedicated to assisting people in living lives that bring Heaven to Earth. How is that possible? By each of us living as their highest and finest expression of who we truly, authentically are…unapologetically, yet grounded in the innate guidance that our individual Spirit offers us in every moment, if we’ll but listen.

One of the catches to this, though…living such a life of alignment with one’s Spirit has to be done no matter what our circumstances may be and (here’s the real clincher for a lot of folks) no matter what others may think.

We all know well the voices of the “Monkey Mind,” or ego, that tell us we can’t be this way, shouldn’t do that, don’t dare say “xyz” to someone, for fear of reaction and rejection.

We tend to forget that we’re born with a freedom and sense of unlimited possibility…no limitations residing within us. Yet, within our families and within our school experiences, that sense of “no limitations” gets squashed, distorted, adapted, and compromised to the point that we often lose track of where the “real” us – our essence – begins and the “socially acceptable” us ends. In maintaining the latter, we get tired, confused, frustrated, self-doubting, self-judgmental, short-tempered, shut down, and disconnected.

This effort ultimately wears us out, and the negative energies that can get so rampant leak out on our children (if we have any), on our colleagues, our spouses/partners, and back onto ourselves. This cycle is one I’ve seen with so many people. It’s a cycle I’ve lived and still live if I’m not paying attention, staying connected to my highest self and truth….and, if I’m not living and practicing love as much as humanly possible.

It may be considered a cliche (though I believe cliches become cliches because there’s a lot of proven truth to them) that – as the Beatles said – “Love is all you need.” My contention is that Heaven on Earth is achievable at ANY moment simply by returning to our connection to love…not just self-love (as critical as that is), but love, period.

Not loving yourself and feeling like crap? Love someone or something else. In that moment, perhaps you’ll notice you’re living Heaven on Earth.

I invite you to try that practice today, and then comment on this post to share your experience when you do that one simple thing. Or, if you believe it just couldn’t be that simple…let me know that, too.

Today, I am happy to host Vrinda Pendred, Founding Director/Editor of Conditional Publications, a new independent publisher dedicated solely to publishing the works of authors with neurological conditions.

Their first book ‘Check Mates’ comes out on May 11,2010.

Yesterday Vrinda stopped by Lynn Serafinn blogs and if you missed it you can go here – http://lynnserafinn.com ; http://spiritauthors.com.

Today, however, I am blessed to have Vrinda making a stop at my blog to chat about and promote the launch of this ground-breaking new book.

This is the seventh stop on Vrinda’s 14-day Virtual Blog Tour to promote “Check Mates.” What makes this book groundbreaking is that ‘Check Mates’ is a collection of short fiction and poetry either about, or inspired by, the struggle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, all written by people with OCD.

It is arranged into two categories, Realism and Beyond. Whether solidly real, allegorical, or completely fictionalised, all the compelling work contained in this collection portrays the true story of this greatly misunderstood condition. It is also the first ever book of fiction written entirely by OCD authors.

I hope you will feel inspired by the interview you are about to read. If you do, be sure to sign up for the book launch reminder so you can buy ‘Check Mates’ and receive over 30 free personal development gifts on May 11,2010. To register, go to: http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html (if you are reading this article after that date, you may buy the book directly from that page).

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In interviewing Vrinda, my primary question – which is based on my experiences with neurological disorders in my own family – was, “How have you used your OCD as a pathway not only for your creative expression and service, but as any type of Spiritual Emergence?” Here is what Vrinda told me:

“To answer the first part, I have ready so many studies demonstrating that neurological disorders such as OCD usually come with heightened creative and / or intellectual abilities. So, for me, it’s been a case of tapping into that natural artistic talent and trying to live through that.

It then becomes a situation where I’m making something positive from what can otherwise be quite debilitating. I know so many others – including all those who contributed to ‘Check Mates’ – who have taken this attitude and felt it has been healing and cathartic.

Spiritually, what I would say, is that OCD forces you to contemplate and analyse subjects other people might not think about so much, such as metaphysics and religion. My single worst obsession happens to be a preoccupation with death and ruminations over what sort of afterlife there might be. It has, at times, crippled me emotionally. But then again, it has also sent me on a path of inner searching.

Equally, the kinds of obsessive insecurities people with OCD often have can result in a strong sense of self-awareness due to the constant analysis of one’s own actions and thoughts. Some people might then fall into a trap of self-hate. But others might use this knowledge as a way of working on their weaknesses and playing on their strengths. I think it all depends on what you do with this self-awareness. OCD may try to attack us, but we hold the power to stand up to it and channel our own inner beauty.”

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Be sure to follow Vrinda to her next Virtual Blog Tour stop on Monday May 3rd, hosted by Miriam Scholzberg – http://liberatethetorturedsoul.blogspot.com

AND… don’t forget to sign up for the book launch reminder so you can buy ‘Check Mates’ and over 30 free personal development gifts on May 11,2010.

Just go to http://conditionalpublications.com/pages/check-mates-launch.html.

Doing so not only supports Vrinda’s pioneering effort in establishing Conditional Publications as part of her own expression of her passions, but also the incredible gift she’s providing for authors and poets who may have thought their neurological condition doomed them in some way to a marginalized life.

Please pass the word on about this book, and this inspiring publisher and author.

I wanted to share a dance with you all…a dance of life and living (Be sure to click on the link at the end of this post to watch a very inspiring video).

On this Sunday, as I post this, I’m connected to my gratitude for the many blessings that have woven their way into my life, even in the midst of some of the most challenging times I’ve ever endured. I imagine this to be true for all of us. Let this short video re-connect you with the inner dance that your Spirit is always doing with this trippy reality we call life.

Let this video remind you of the joy that people create even in the midst of living in a terrorized and impoverished country…and inspire you to do this in your own way with consciousness, choice, and joy.

Well being means different things to different people. One thing I know, though, is we don’t “have” it unless we’re intending for it, focusing on it, putting attention on it, and really committing to it (kinda sounds like most things in life, doesn’t it?). For those of us who are in any Spiritually oriented, it also doesn’t hurt to throw in a prayer, chant, or mantra to bring in some Divine help. I want to share what I hold as a prayer, though the Buddhists that developed what I’m about to share may differ with me in calling it that.

Regardless, I offer it into the blogosphere as something you can say to yourself every day to prime the pump for having a day that can be full of well-being. It also might not be a bad idea to say it for all others, as well, given we’re all in the same boat of wanting, desiring, and deserving well-being. It’s called “Reflection On Well-Being:”

Three of the most important words in any language are “I Love You.” At the same time, they are three of the easiest words to simply toss off, as mundanely and cursorily as “Don’t forget to take out the trash before you go.” How many times have you, or someone you love – usually when leaving each other’s company for awhile, like when leaving for work – said, “Love you!”…or, upon hearing that said to you, say back, “Love you too,” as you frantically look for your car keys or your PDA?

Today, on Valentine’s Day, it can be just as perfunctory to tell your loved ones that you love them, give them some flowers, candy, a nice meal out, or – for some – sweeping your partner off their feet into the bedroom for outrageously juicy sex for the first time in awhile. Yet, at the risk of being maudlin, do we often REALLY stop to realize that that casually tossed off “Love you!” could be the final words you and a loved one exchange? Do we often pay attention to how much we take our love, and lovers/partners, for granted?

My wife and I saw the movie “The Last Station” yesterday, about the life and marriage of Leo Tolstoy & his wife Sofya. All the clear dysfunctions of their marriage aside, there was an incredible love between them that endured for 48 years. It made me think about my wife, with whom I’ve been partnered for 28 years. The film reconnected me with the true preciousness and value of love like that…the love in the film, the love I have for my wife Sarah, and the love she has for me, after all the years, trials, and challenges.

In noticing how much younger Sarah and I are NOT getting, it struck me that every day is Valentine’s Day, if we just stay awake and present to the gifts that we have in our most valuable and fulfilling relationships.

I invite you readers to make this Valentine’s Day, and of course every day, special by doing the following things, starting today (if you haven’t already done so):

While with your loved ones today (and each day), actually stop and take a moment to take a deep breath, feel into your own body, and then just watch that loved one for a few minutes…feeling into what you love about them; particularly, look at something you love about them that you either haven’t noticed in awhile and/or haven’t said anything to them about in a long while.

Make the time to pull a loved one close to you, especially your spouse/partner if you have one and your children, and instead of just saying “I love you,
actually tell them at least two things about them that you love and appreciate about them. If you can find something to name that you don’t tend to acknowledge them for very often, use that/those.

Tell a loved one or three how their presence in your life has most recently made a meaningful difference in your life…then, thank them for that gift.

Tell them how that meaningful difference your loved one’s love has made in your life has been or will be paid forward to others in your life that could use it. Be sure you’re doing your best to actually FEEL what you’re sharing, so the energy not only goes to your loved one but recirculates back throughout your heart and Spirit.

Lastly, remember that our love is what actually bodily connects us to Spirit and can remind us of who we truly are as Divine Beings; take that love in for yourself, thank Spirit, and feel the glow that this, and the other practices I’ve outlined above, will generate throughout your whole body, mind, and heart.

It ain’t a box of chocolates, but it will be better for you and much longer lasting! Happy Love Day to you all today and every day.

The expression for which this post is named was one of the most oft-used and delightful expressions uttered by my dear friend, Jim ‘Jaguar’ Wilson. A man who often spoke in a lingo that defied a first-cut understanding, and brought memories of how Jazz Cats talked back in the 60’s, the expression nevertheless humorously described a life that often seemed beyond Jim’s immediate ideas of what he could handle. Yet, handle it he did…always finding a way to take whatever obstacles were coming his way – which many did – and then using his Spirit’s refusal to bow to defeat to help him either find solutions, or go through the process with an air of “might as well make the best of it, because it is what it is.” It was that inspiring and determined way of living that Jim brought to his year-and-a-half long dying process that finally culminated in his passing on September 27 in my old stomping grounds of Bayfield, Colorado (near Durango).

It is not just to pay tribute to this amazing man that I write this. Jim would have been a teeny bit embarrassed, I think, to have TOO much fawning over him. Part of his magic was that he never realized what an inspiration he was in life, and probably wouldn’t realize how his death has done the same. I’m more writing this because, in my grief of losing this gentle, loving man that I knew for 8 years, I see a lesson that’s too important not to highlight. When I was writing a piece for his memorial that was held Tuesday night – outside at a fire circle with all his New Warrior Brothers, family, and friends – I was trying to figure out what I could say and what I most remembered as one of Jim’s signature expressions. The “10 pounds of s**t in a 5-pound bag” one was the first one to come to me. I’ve since realized that that was the perfect one, not only because it was something that Jim would say when you asked him to check in on how he was doing, but it ended up being the edge of existence that he always seemed to find himself transcending.

Transcendence is one of the greatest gifts of possibility that we are given by the Divine through being put in a human existence. I’m not referring to Transcendence in the sense of rising above something, but simply moving higher beyond a level of consciousness that you have a natural drive to grow beyond, after incorporating all the lessons you can, from each “level.” This is an impulse that the human spirit, at its fullest, can’t help but do…it’s just a matter of whether we allow it with grace, or if we go kicking and screaming into denying it, fearing it, and avoiding it. There have been many times in my life that I have taken the latter path, only to find – to both my consternation and relief – that this kind of Transcendence is all but non-avoidable for me and most people. Jim was a man who modeled for me the beauty of just diving in and going for it.

It was a way of living that he brought to his adventurous younger life climbing mountains and traveling around the world. He brought it to his incredible jazz guitar playing. He brought it to how he would fight with his former wife with whom he managed to ultimately co-create a caring relationship with that ended with her being at his side when he passed. He brought it to his work as an electrician, a job that he truly enjoyed and took great pride in doing with excellence. Most importantly to him, perhaps, he brought it to the depth of which he loved his daughter Angela and strove to be the kind of father for her that “she deserved,” he would often say. That one goal, above any other, was the one that drove him to constantly transcend any of the limitations he felt he embodied, imagined or real.

For me, personally, he brought it to the way he did his inner work that I was privileged to lead some of, and many times, got to be led in by his example. Jim didn’t let all of his adversities define him or limit him. Eight months ago, when his Pick’s Disease had rendered him unable to walk very far by himself, he showed up in a men’s circle still very sharp, mentally, and loving each man in that circle with his wit, his careful attention, and his unwillingness to operate as if he hobbled in any way. I know it wasn’t easy most of the time. I know Jim had a temper, and I know he had his moments. He was not a God nor was he perfect, by a long shot. What he was, however, was a living testament to never stopping to live as fully and as best as possible…the way he loved those he loved was always full-out, unconditional (at least with me), and selfless, often to a fault. All of that, combined with the fact that he was one of the funniest men I’ve ever known, made him a humble man of virtue in my book…a man who, in his life and his death, now symbolizes the endless possibility that Spirit offers us all: the moment-by-moment opportunity to choose, to surrender, to glean the messages that Spirit is offering us through our trials and heartaches, and take all that into a life lived as a commitment to being as fully alive and joyful as possible, while following Spirit’s lead, rather than the voice of limitation that our Ego-minds thrill in focusing on.

Godspeed Jazz Man Jaguar. Thank you for being a Spiritual lesson for so many, but also for being a teacher to all of us who had the privilege of sharing humble space with you. May you find even greater freedom in your next stage of evolving, no longer having to carry that damn bag, as those of us who miss you already will use your example to continue to find greater levels of our own freedom in our co-creative walk with Spirit, whether we admit it or not.